Logan Wilson

Logan Wilson (born July 8, 1996) is an American football linebacker for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Wyoming and was selected by the Bengals in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

Early life
Wilson grew up in Casper, Wyoming and attended Natrona County High School, where he played defensive back, wide receiver, placekicker and punter on the football team. He was named first-team All-State as a placekicker as a sophomore and as a junior and at safety, wide receiver and punter as a junior. As a senior, Wilson recorded six interceptions and five passes broken up on defense, 29 catches for 493 yards and seven touchdowns on offense and was again named first-team All-State at safety, wide receiver and punter and helped lead the Mustangs to a 12-0 record and a state title. He committed to play college football at Wyoming with his only other scholarship offer being Weber State.

College career
Wilson redshirted his true freshman season. As a redshirt freshman, Wilson made 94 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and three sacks with seven passes defended, three interceptions with one returned for a touchdown, a forced fumble and three fumble recoveries with one returned for a touchdown and was named the Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year. Wilson posted 119 tackles, eight tackles for loss, a sack, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery with an interception and two passes defended in his redshirt sophomore season and was named honorable mention All-Mountain West. He was again named honorable mention All-Mountain West as a redshirt junior after making 103 tackles with two sacks and 11 tackles for loss while breaking up four passes with two interceptions. As a senior, Wilson made 105 tackles with 8.5 tackles for loss and a sack with four interceptions (one returned for a touchdown), 11 passes broken up and a forced fumble and was named first-team All-Mountain West and a second-team All-American by USA Today. Wilson finished his collegiate career with 421 tackles (fourth-most in school history), 35 tackles for loss and seven sacks with 24 passes defended, ten interceptions, four forced fumbles, four fumbles recovered and three defensive touchdowns.

2020
Wilson was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals with the 65th pick in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He made his debut in the opening game of 2020, recording two tackles as a reserve linebacker against the Los Angeles Chargers. In Week 3 against the Philadelphia Eagles, Wilson recorded his first career interception off a pass thrown by Carson Wentz during the 23–23 tie game. In Week 8 against the Tennessee Titans, Wilson recorded his first career sack on Ryan Tannehill during the 31–20 win.

2021
Wilson was named the starting middle linebacker for the Bengals heading into the 2021 season. In Week 2 against the Chicago Bears, Wilson had his first interception of the season against Bears rookie quarterback Justin Fields in a 20-17 loss at Soldier Field. On September 26, 2021, Wilson intercepted Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger twice, along with a game-high 14 tackles in route to a 24-10 victory for the Bengals at Heinz Field in Week 3. Wilson finished the season with 4 interceptions, leading the team. In the AFC Divisional Playoff game against the top seeded Tennessee Titans, Wilson intercepted a tipped throw from Ryan Tannehill mid-field. This set up an eventual game-winning field goal by Evan McPherson, giving the Bengals their first road playoff win in franchise history, 19-16.

2022
Wilson began the season slow, with only 12 combined tackles in the first 2 games, but broke out for the first time in 2022 against the New York Jets in Week 3, recording 7 tackles, forcing one fumble and intercepting one pass, which he returned 41 yards. Against the Cleveland Browns in Week 13, Wilson had his career best game, making 14 solo tackles, with an additional three assisted for a total of 17 combined tackles. He was also credited with 0.5 sacks in the game, splitting it with Vonn Bell. The following week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Wilson combined for 15 tackles and recorded his first sack of the season. At the conclusion of the regular season, Wilson led the team in tackles with 123.

In the Bengals' Wild Card playoff win over the Baltimore Ravens on January 15, 2023, he forced a fumble from Tyler Huntley on the Bengals' 1-yard line, which teammate Sam Hubbard recovered and returned 98 yards for a touchdown. In turn, Wilson's effort helped this to become the record for the longest fumble return for a touchdown in the NFL postseason, as well as being the longest go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter in the postseason, and the longest touchdown in Bengals playoff history.

2023
On August 4, 2023, Wilson signed a four-year contract extension with the Cincinnati Bengals.

On September 25, while facing the Los Angeles Rams, Wilson intercepted Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford twice. This tied his previous career high of two interceptions in a single game from 2021. In Week 6 against the Seattle Seahawks, Wilson was credited with 0.5 sacks, splitting with B. J. Hill. He made a crucial interception in the fourth quarter of the Bengals' Week 8 against the San Francisco 49ers, returning it for 16 yards setting up a go-ahead touchdown. Wilson led the team in tackles for the third straight year with 135 combined tackles, his career best season.